03-29-2021, 12:10 AM
A couple more points for this matchup:
We have 2 players this year who played in our loss against Louisville 3 years ago: Kiana and Alyssa. Jerome played just 4 minutes, but Kiana started and played 30 minutes. She didn't have a good game (7 points on 3/11 shooting (1/5 from 3-pt range) and 3 turnovers); obviously she is a much better and more experienced player now than she was back then.
Dana Evans came off the bench for them, but logged 21 minutes and was an efficient 4/6 and just from a cursory glance at the box score of that game compared with the Oregon game today, she's the only holdover.
I also watched Walz's press conference and he noted that he coached both Fran and Cameron when they were on the national U19 team, so he has insight and experience with their games.
He also praised his guards' ball pressure against the Ducks and as 81alum pointed out, their perimeter defense is stout. So, this looks like the biggest test yet for our guards. Williams has been jump starting our offense, bouyed by her home crowd support and her hot starts have ignited the rest of the team. I hope we can still get a good flow going if she is not as accurate as she has been on Tuesday evening with a better defense guarding her.
I think Haley might play a role in countering the pressure; her height and strength gives her an advantage over some of Louisville's shorter players but she still has the mobility and agility too.
We have 2 players this year who played in our loss against Louisville 3 years ago: Kiana and Alyssa. Jerome played just 4 minutes, but Kiana started and played 30 minutes. She didn't have a good game (7 points on 3/11 shooting (1/5 from 3-pt range) and 3 turnovers); obviously she is a much better and more experienced player now than she was back then.
Dana Evans came off the bench for them, but logged 21 minutes and was an efficient 4/6 and just from a cursory glance at the box score of that game compared with the Oregon game today, she's the only holdover.
I also watched Walz's press conference and he noted that he coached both Fran and Cameron when they were on the national U19 team, so he has insight and experience with their games.
He also praised his guards' ball pressure against the Ducks and as 81alum pointed out, their perimeter defense is stout. So, this looks like the biggest test yet for our guards. Williams has been jump starting our offense, bouyed by her home crowd support and her hot starts have ignited the rest of the team. I hope we can still get a good flow going if she is not as accurate as she has been on Tuesday evening with a better defense guarding her.
I think Haley might play a role in countering the pressure; her height and strength gives her an advantage over some of Louisville's shorter players but she still has the mobility and agility too.